It was a very difficult day for everyone at Murrayfield because it did not go how we would have liked, hoped or foreseen. We went there with the right game plan for the conditions of swirling wind and rain, yet we found ourselves having the game plan we wanted to implement on Scotland being dictated to us. Their defence in the contact area was excellent, as was their desire. That's not to say our desire was not strong.

There are those who say it is the same old story, that we are back to square one after what we did to France. I don't think that's the case. Scotland played really well and they outmuscled us. We needed the collective dynamic to open up the field and to generate momentum, but it didn't happen. That momentum comes from 15 players making decisions and following each other's decisions. Somehow, you have to try to find space, but, in trying to do that, you can misdirect things.

I was also in the team that lost in 2000 in almost identical conditions. Scotland play those conditions brilliantly. They load up the defence and hit you harder and harder. When you try to kick, there is nowhere to kick. You know what is going to come and you try to fight it, but we gave away penalties and let them in. Our job was to try to alter the script. But you can't start trying to move the ball around in those conditions. You have to try to change things subtly. In 2000, our mistake was trying to play too much rugby.

The conditions do make it difficult for kicking. It has been said I did not get the distance when kicking from hand, but, on Saturday, the wind was everywhere. When kicking spirals in those conditions, if something happens in the moment it takes to drop the ball from hand to foot the kick can be wrecked. It can end up anywhere. As for being replaced, it is not something you can be surprised about. The guys watching have a better perspective and can make less emotionally involved decisions. That is what coaching is about. Somebody puts a board up and you know your role on the field is done.

I know people in the media have said it's time for me to go; that I am either up or down. How do I react? You learn you are going to be on the end of praise and criticism. It never stops. But it is a different world for me now. I have been involved in 70-odd games for England and have faced every kind of challenge - done the best I can and tried to do the right thing. You don't do anything differently. In theory, you have more wisdom and experience behind you, you have a greater armoury. But that for me encapsulates what rugby is about. When things are going well, the field opens up and, when you are at ten, you can have slightly more time to do something creative and receive praise for doing the right thing. Sometimes, when it's not going well, you can fight your way out of it; sometimes you cannot.

I think about the game massively, but I do not beat myself up about things now. There is still that desire to improve day by day - to make the most of your opportunities. At some point on the field you have to trust what you are doing, trust your natural instinct that the decision you make at the time, under pressure and in the pace of a game, is the right one. Some people say, upon reflection and in the same situation, they would do things differently, but I wonder how many would.

A few years ago, I would have said the way I did this or that was crap. That awful sense of disappointment used to keep me up all night, replaying things in my mind. Not any more.

Up at night? Need to relax? Nightclubs! I know where this is going. I don't think Danny Cipriani needs any advice from me. He has a huge future ahead of him and he is his own guy. The way he acts, his character, is what makes him so special. He has this unique ability to express himself on the rugby field and that comes from being who he is. Being true to himself will bring all the rewards. There is, though, an understanding between coach and player - but that is a different matter and something I am not able to talk about. That is nothing to do with me.